Know who you are paying, before you commit to them.
A supplier record that is only a name and a bank account is a liability. This one carries lifecycle status, risk, certifications, performance and the documents that prove them — and the status is enforced, not advisory.
Status that stops things, not status that decorates.
Most systems hold a supplier status nobody checks. Here the status is a control: a suspended or debarred supplier cannot be invited, cannot quote and cannot be awarded, and the attempt is recorded.
- LifecycleProspective, Approved, Preferred, On Hold, Suspended, Debarred — and the last three block
- RiskRisk rating, segment and single-source flag on the record itself
- DocumentsInsurance, certifications and clearances, with expiry dates that are chased before they lapse
- Bank detailsThe most abused field in procurement, changed under control rather than on an email from a stranger
Performance measured from what happened, not from opinion.
Delivery and invoice history are already in the system, so a scorecard does not need a survey to exist.
- SimpleRead the scorecard: on-time delivery, invoice accuracy, complaint history
- ThenMove a vetted supplier from Prospective to Approved, and set standing status where it is earned
- ThenUse performance as evidence at renewal rather than as a conversation
- ComplexPut a failing supplier On Hold — every route into an award closes at once, without needing anyone to remember
They maintain their own record, which is why it is current.
Supplier data goes stale because the buying side owns it. Give the supplier the screen and the reminder, and it maintains itself.
- SimpleRegister, complete the profile and upload documents
- ThenBe told before a certification lapses, rather than after it blocks an award
- ThenKeep categories current, so they are invited to the right competitions
- ComplexRaise a complaint about a process they believe went wrong — recorded, answered in writing, and visible to governance
Complaints answered in writing, and kept.
A supplier complaint is the early warning for a challenge. Recording and answering them is both good practice and the cheapest possible insurance.
- RecordedComplaints raised from the portal land against the event they concern
- AnsweredResolved with a written response, held on the record
- VisibleComplaint history shows on the supplier and on the event
- ProofA pattern of complaints about one buyer or one category is visible before somebody outside the organisation notices it
Concentration is a risk you can only manage if you can see it.
The supplier questions a board asks are about dependency and exposure, not about individual purchase orders.
- SeesSupplier concentration — how much of the spend sits with how few
- SeesSingle-source dependencies, flagged on the record
- SeesDiverse and local supplier share, measured rather than estimated
- DoesTargets the categories where a second source would actually reduce risk
